Prescott, Camp Verde to meet in Little League All-Star semis tonight

COTTONWOOD — After postponing two games due to inclement weather July 1, District 10 Majors All-Stars Tournament director Jayne Lee said officials in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, home of the Little League World Series, decided to call both games.

“The rules say four innings is a complete game, and if it can’t continue on the same day, the game is called,” Lee said.

Lee added that Western District officials did not inform her of that rule when the games were suspended late July 1, they simply left it up to the coaches. All four head coaches from the Prescott, Wickenburg, Camp Verde and Verde Valley All-Stars agreed to come back Tuesday night and finish the contests.

“No one disagreed,” Lee said. But once the rules were reviewed by Williamsport officials on July 2, they made the call. “We let the big guys [in Williamsport] make the call,” Lee said.

The decision advances the Prescott All-Stars to the tournament semifinals with a 3-0 win over the Wickenburg All-Stars after four innings of play.

More notably, the Camp Verde All-Stars earned a 5-4 upset win over the heavily-favored Verde Valley All-Stars.

Heavy rain and lightning forced umpires to send players and coaches from all four squads to their respective dugouts Friday night, and both games were in the top of the fifth inning when the delay began.

Prescott and Camp Verde will face each other in the tournament semifinals tonight at 6:30 p.m.

PRESCOTT VALLEY ELIMINATED

Kyle Bills was 1 for 2 with an RBI double and a run scored, Dylan Turk added an RBI bases-loaded walk in the third inning, but the Prescott Valley All-Stars fell 13-2 to the Verde Valley All-Stars on Tuesday evening.

Ryan Buckle toed the hill for Prescott Valley (1-2), but surrendered eight runs on eight hits and was pulled after just three innings pitched in the loss.

“They had his number,” Prescott Valley skipper Chad Mertins said.

CHINO VALLEY OUSTED

After a 14-7 win over the Williams All-Stars before the holiday break, the Chino Valley All-Stars were able to muster only one run on a Kaden Wagner RBI sacrifice fly in an 11-1 loss to the Wickenburg All-Stars on Tuesday evening. Starting pitcher Jayden Smith allowed six runs on seven hits and struck out three batters in the loss for Chino Valley (1-2), which is eliminated from the tournament.

NEXT UP

Wickenburg (2-1) will face Verde Valley (2-1) in the loser’s bracket semifinals today at Riverfront Park in Cottonwood.

First pitch is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.

Brian M. Bergner Jr. is a sports writer and columnist for The Daily Courier. Follow him on Twitter @SportsWriter52 or reach him by phone at 928-445-3333, ext. 1106.